Firefighters worked through Tuesday night on the Darlene 3 Fire establishing control lines around the fire perimeter. The Central Oregon Type 3 team with Incident Commander Vince Grace took command of the fire Wednesday morning and is in unified command with Oregon State Fire Marshal (OSFM) Red Team, Incident Commander Ian Yocum.
The fire is currently 2415 acres and 30% contained. Winds and warm temperatures this afternoon are expected and will test established lines. Today’s focus will be to keep the fire within its current footprint and strengthening the lines with dozers, handcrews and engines. Air resources will continue to engage with the fire as needed.
Structure and wildland resources continue to arrive at the Incident Command Post in La Pine to support the fire. Six task forces of structural firefighters will be actively working to prep and protect structures. These include the eastside of the City of LaPine, Newberry Estates, as well as nearby water and power infrastructure.
Fire investigators are actively investigating this fire. As we move into the dry summer months here in Central Oregon, it is imperative for our community and visitors to be vigilant about fire safety. Please be aware of and check with local land management agencies for current fire restrictions as we move into a high fire danger level across Central Oregon.
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office and the fire team will continue to discuss evacuation level needs. The Sheriff’s Office will update evacuation levels accordingly. For the most up-to-date official evacuation information please visit Deschutes County evacuation information: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/6f8868c4477e462b8a653a89260268fc.
The Red Cross is staffing the evacuation shelter at La Pine High School (51633 Coach Rd.) with additional support from the Deschutes County Medical Reserve Corps. The La Pine Activity Center (16450 Victory Way) is open for RVs to park and has space for animals. The La Pine Rodeo Grounds is accepting livestock and companion animals in coordination with the Pet Evacuation Team. Bend Pet Resort (60909 SE 27th St., Bend), is accepting cats and dogs and can be reached by calling 458-666-7505.
Prairie Campground, McKay Crossing Campground, Ogden Group Campground, and the Rosland OHV play area and associated trails are also closed. The Prineville District Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has also issued an Emergency Public Land Closure. The closure includes all BLM-administered lands within National Forest Road 180 on the south, Highway 97 on the west, Paulina Lake Road on the north, and the Deschutes National Forest Boundary on the east. This closure is effective immediately and will remain in effect until such a time as conditions allow for safe use of the public lands. This closure notice will be available online at https://www.blm.gov/programs/public-safety-and-fire/fire-and-aviation/regional-info/oregon-washington/fire-restrictions.
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act for the Darlene 3 Fire. The governor’s declaration allows the state fire marshal to mobilize firefighters and equipment to assist local resources battling the fire. More information can be found here: https://apps.oregon.gov/oregon-newsroom/OR/OSFM/Posts/Post/darlene-three-conflagration.
For current wildfire information, the public can visit centraloregonfire.org or follow fire information on X (Twitter) @CentralORFire.